Abstract:
Housing is a fundamental right and every person is entitled to this basic need.
However, the biggest challenge facing Kenya is lack of affordable housing
especially for low- and middle-income households in urban areas. We profile
housing cooperative models and examine their suitability in addressing
shortage of affordable housing in Nairobi City County. Specifically, we: (i)
profile housing cooperative models adopted by housing cooperatives in Nairobi
City County and (ii) examine the suitability of the models in provision of
affordable housing. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews
was adopted to generate data on how the housing co-operative models formed,
membership characteristics, management practices, financing models and
ownership practices. The paper is anchored on transaction cost theory. The
target population consists of all active housing cooperatives registered by the
State Department of Cooperatives in Nairobi City County as of December 2017.
The sample size selection for this exploratory study was based on data
saturation criteria. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 10 key
informants, based on their technical expertise and knowledge. Thematic content
analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Findings revealed that the
limited housing cooperative model is most used among the members of housing
cooperatives in Nairobi City County. However, the model failed to take into
consideration collective efforts of members in terms of collective housing
construction which bring down the total cost of construction. The paper
recommends restructuring of housing finance system to take into consideration
issues of low- and middle-income households for adoption of a multiple
mortgage housing cooperative model.
